Carbon paste electrodes in laboratory exercises for students

Abstract

In this article, carbon paste-based electrodes (CPEs) are presented as suitable working electrodes for educating master’s degree students on the experimental work from the area of modern electrochemical measurements. Based on long-term experience from a special laboratory course at the Faculty of Chemical Technology of the University of Pardubice, these electrodes are shown to be well applicable in the respective exercises that could be structured in diverse ways when employing either voltammetric or amperometric mode. First, CPEs are introduced as such, and all their specific features comprehensively surveyed with emphasis on preparation of carbon paste and the respective electrode(s) as the final configuration. Then, the applicability of CPEs is illustrated in three examples of real laboratory exercises (trained with students since the mid-1990s) that utilised different typical measurements and always included electroanalytical determinations in model samples with various substances—from heavy metal ions, via typical organic substances (caffeine), up to selected biologically active compounds (glucose).